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Dear Youth Pastors and Group Leaders,
We are excited and looking forward to the possibilities in work together for the Lords Kingdom. We hope not only to be able to reach out to our brothers and sisters in Mexico, but we wish to also reach out to the members of your Team. We especially pray that the Lord will have a special message directed towards each pair of hands that serves diligently. We feel that just as much as the construction of a new home for a family is a blessing, which as the Lord builds Christian Character in your team that, they too will be blessed in a special way.

If you are thinking of a summer with RLM we hope as you read our information that you will be respectful and come on board with us in making sure we keep to the principles of our ministry. If for any reason you do not agree with our principles please contact us for further explanation, and we will do our best to accommodate you with out compromising The Lord's Mission for our ministry.

This is a cross cultural missions experience and we hope you will take this as serious as we do and make sure all those that sign up desire a cross cultural experience as well. This means leaving much of what makes us comfortable at home, this mean food, styles of clothing, language, music...

We hope to instill the "Missions Trip Vision" in contrast to this being a summer camp. Your week in Mexico is a step beyond summer camp, serious and often life changing as each person yields to the Lord and learns important lessons. As always, there will be rules to follow, because we want this new facility and our neighbors to be treated with respect. We are asking that as you read these basic guidelines and that you come alongside us and support us in every aspect. This facility was built so each of you would consider it your home for the week and every home and family has rules to make life run smoothly.

Our Summer Intern Program

Every summer we are blessed with a small number of individuals that feel called to a much larger commitment, The Position of a Summer Intern. In general they arrive at the beginning of summer and leave after the last group. This is no small challenge they take on, and it is by far no vacation. They're days are long and they soon find that they have very little time that is theirs. I know at times they can be hard to understand and deal with, but they carry a heavy responsibility, and not only are they learning how to build, but they them selves need to teach others how to build. We hope and pray that as leaders you can help us help them in developing patient hearts, Strong desire to work hard, and a humble servant's heart.

We also hope that you watch your youth with-in your group and pay special attention to those that seem to have that "mission's heart", a "Servants Heart". Every summer we seek those that can come and help us with the 101 task that are included in getting each group through their Project. Without the Summer Intern We could not do what we do. If you feel you see a potential prospect, let us know and we'll take some time to address the possibilities and encourage them.

Dress Attire:

Mexico is a different culture and we work within that culture and alongside the churches. With this in mind and for safety sake:
1) Through out the week all those that participate in RLM's ministry will need to wear long pants. This is to help prevent the chance of cuts due to the sharp edges of the steel studs and chicken wire, and we are also trying to sensitive to the culture. No tank-tops are allowed, all shirts must be T-shirt style. In the Mexican culture, this combination (long pants and T-shirts) is the typical dress in the work field, and that is how we want to present ourselves.

2) If you are involved in VBS, you will need to dress in a respectable manner.
*Girls must wear long clean pants or skirts that extend below the knee, and again, no tank-tops. If a skirt is worn, please wear a slip. Some Pastors prefer skirts only, therefore, we must comply with no exceptions or questions asked which means that all of the ladies must be prepared to wear a skirt with a slip.
*Guys, long clean pants and a collar, polo-type shirt and again, no tank-tops.

At the ministry site, aaahhh - time to relax.

Shorts are permitted (always okay outside of the ministry time and the last day of work), but still no tank-tops or spaghetti strap dresses or tops. We also ask that shorts are modest, not short shorts. Now, how short is too short? …good question! We all have our definition of short, so we will go by RLM's definition! We would like to see a one hand distance (pinky on the knee, thumb on the thigh - fingers closed) from the top of the knee to the bottom of the shorts. At the beach aaahhh - time to have fun. Girls: only one piece, modest bathing suits are allowed - no two-piece suits or French cut. We understand that this might be all you have, so if that's the case you must wear a T-shirt over, with gym style shorts. We have to remember that we are working within a totally different culture and people could be deeply offended and our testimony damaged if we do not do our best to respect Mexico's culture and our Christian witness.

Public Display of Affection:

This is an area that much attention must be given to and it is an area that is easily misunderstood. Boyfriend/girlfriend relationships within the church in Mexico are very serious issues. When a boy holds hands with a girl in the church, he is saying, "this is the girl I am going to marry" - therefore a statement of engagement. Casual dating between a boy and a girl is discouraged. The only contact that is displayed between a boy and a girl that are not engaged would be a simple handshake and a Christian hug. Yes, you will see boys and girls walking around the town holding hands or hanging on each other, but that is not the image we want for RLM young people. Please explain the seriousness behind this, we want each person to devote the week to ministry and not to their special friend in the group.
At times we hear sarcasm/criticism towards our stands in this, basically, made light of not taken seriously, so we ask you in advance to prepare your group before they come down and stand with us in agreement.

What not to bring:

CELL PHONES, Boom boxes, portable CDs, MP3, cassette players, electronic games, Gameboys, PSP's, pocket knives, cigarettes, alcohol, drugs (all leaders must know of prescription drugs that are being taken). No smoking will be allowed on the ministry grounds, work site or at any time.

Lights out and Curfew:

Yes, we will have a curfew and lights out, but we also want to be flexible in this area. If your activity (like beach night) finishes late, that is okay, please just have everyone returns to their rooms and get ready for bed as quietly as possible. On a normal day, we ask that you are in your dorm rooms and have the lights out by 10:30pm. Lights out at 11:00.
The observation deck will be off bounds to individuals after 9:30, and group worship after 10:00.
Last, but not least, are two very important rules:
1) Boys are never allowed in the girl's dorm and girls are never allowed in the boy's dorm.
2) None of the young people are ever to leave the ministry site or work project alone for any reason. We hear stories from other ministries where this has been a problem and we definitely never want this to be the case with RLM.

I know that some of this might seem a little strong, but some of these things took us by surprise last summer and believe us, they are serious issues. Our intention is to bring forth the importance of how our actions can have negative (or positive) affects on our ministry together, so we cannot stress enough how important it is to fit into the Mexican culture - yes, their culture. We are not coming to Mexico to impart our culture upon them, but rather we participate in their culture and remember that we are brothers in Christ together.
Thank you and Dios les Bendiga.

Real Life Ministry Staff.

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